


Terrified

by parkeratheart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Child Abuse, Comfort, Eventual Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Hugs, Hurt, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, May's Boyfriend, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Scared Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 23:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkeratheart/pseuds/parkeratheart
Summary: The first time Peter met Jace was when May brought him home.





	Terrified

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by "Who Saves The Hero" by CamelotQueen. It's not a rip-off, I swear, but there are some similarities. I put as much originality as I could into it, which was quite a lot. be sure to check hers out, because it's amazing.
> 
> (Also this has been edited on December 15th and 31st 2018)

The first time Peter met Jace was when May brought him home.

The banging of the door hitting the wall in the same place each time snapped him out of his train of thoughts, which he forgot instantly.

May hadn’t even thought about dating since Ben died. She didn’t even really have guy friends where she worked and most certainly never brought them home. She always seemed content and smiley with just her and Peter.

So seeing her standing next to a guy came as quite a shock.

“Hey, Peter!” she greeted cheerfully. “This is Jace.” She raised her black gloved hand and gestured at the man.

Just looking at the man made the hair on Peter’s arms stand up straight like they wanted to touch the ceiling. The shuddering tingle of spider-sense ran through his body. Peter shifted his chocolate brown eyes to meet Jace’s. His eyes were bright blue and piercing, and he gave Peter a vibe that he didn’t like. His face was clean, shaven and he flashed a polite, charming smile.

“Hi,” Peter said awkwardly, giving May a confused look. Jace smiled as his greeting.

“He’s staying for dinner,” May announced, hanging her fluffy navy blue coat on the metal coat rack to the left of the doorway and kicked off her plain black leather shoes. They landed with two thumps on the carpeted floor. Jace respectfully placed his neatly in front of the coat rack and hung his jacket next to May’s.

“Oh?” Peter said, hiding his confusion to the best of his abilities. A forced smile spread across his face. “Do you want help?”

“It’s fine, honey,” she responded. “You can watch a movie or something in your room.”

With that, Peter headed for his room. The hairs on his arms flattened once he was out of Jace’s menacing electric-blue-eyed sightline and the tingle died down. The springy, cushiony bed of his seemed to hug his body as he did a practiced flip onto it and landed gracefully on his back.

The chatter and laughter of May and Jace echoed through the apartment. Jace’s voice was sarcastic and humoured, kind of like Tony’s, if Peter was honest. He looked nice enough, but the vibe Peter kept getting from his eyes kept making his hairs stand on end.

But May seemed happy, so he decided he’d just push aside the sickening feeling and let her have fun.

The chatter didn’t die down until around _11:00_ at night. Peter felt like a prisoner to his room. A terrifying lurch in his stomach went off when he realized that Jace must be staying the night. He sort of felt betrayed that May never once said anything about the guy, since they were usually really open to each other. _Okay,_ so maybe he deserved it for hiding Spider-Man from her for over half a year, which she found out about anyway.

Peter got hungry at about _2:00 am,_ since he didn’t have dinner that evening. May was always asleep at this time of night and she was usually a heavy sleeper, so Peter wasn’t too careful about making noises when he entered the kitchen. Fatigue swept over his body like warm water from a shower, but he needed to eat, so he pulled out a box of Corn Flakes from the top cupboard and a bowl from the dishwasher.

The milk was sitting on the counter, left over from dinner which May didn’t completely clean up. She never really would until the following day.

Right as Peter was about to grab the bowl from the counter and take it to his room, a figure stalked into the kitchen, his footsteps light and almost soundless. Peter knew it was Jace, which made his spider-sense go off again. Even in the dim lighting coming from the moon shining through the window, his blue eyes were still visible.

The movement was quick.

Jace came up from behind him and grabbed his shoulder. Peter quietly yelped at the sudden contact and then a big rough hand clasped over his mouth and nose, barely leaving room for his nostrils to take in air. He was yanked backwards and then his back pressed into Jace’s hulking figure. He hand on his shoulder transferred to his forehead, pressing the back of his head against the man’s chest.

Peter breathed heavy through his nose and reached his hand up to pull away Jace’s.

“I’m going to get something straight,” Jace hissed, his lips brushing Peter’s right ear. “Your aunt and I have a pretty good thing going, and I’d hate for her annoying nephew to ruin it.” He spoke in almost a whisper. There was no was May was going to hear him from her room. Peter grunted softly against the calloused hand over his mouth and shook his head in attempt to get it off. Hot tears burned his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

“I’m in your life now, Parker, and you better get used to it,” Jace continued in the frightening, quiet voice, tightening his grip and Peter grunted. “If I ask you to get me something, you better fucking get it. If I ask you to leave, you better fucking leave. You stay out of my way, got it? You don’t say a fucking word about this to anyone, especially May, or I swear to god you’ll regret it. Do you understand?”

Peter breathed in the scent of his hand. _Green apple soap._ May would always use that in her bathroom.

“Do you understand?” Jace hissed again, more threatening.

Peter squeezed is eyes shut and nodded. Jace released his face from his massive hands and Peter breathed in hard through his mouth. Jace threw Peter forcefully to the floor. Every instinct in his body told him to fight back against this man. But he hit the ground with a quiet thump, braced and quieted by his hands, and Jace’s footsteps exited the room.

Peter pulled himself towards the fridge and sat up with his back against it. He pulled his knees into his chest and quiet sobs dug their nails into his chest and tears rolled down his cheeks in streams. Jace’s threat hung in the air, taunting him. He could have used his insane strength to get the man off him. He could have fought back. But something kept preventing him. An invisible rope tying his limbs down. Non-existent ice rushing through his veins, keeping him frozen in place.

He felt Jace’s hand over his mouth again and covered it with his own hands to quiet a sob. Peter dragged himself back to his room and sat gingerly at the edge of his bed, still clamping his mouth shut since he knew no amount of self control could keep him from contained the violent sobs that wanted to leave his throat.

He cried himself to sleep silently that night.

-

“Peter,” May said once Jace left the afternoon after that night. “I guess I should give you a bit of an explanation.”

“Yes!” Peter exclaimed. “Please do.”

“I met Jace at work,” May said. “I like him a lot, Peter. I know that it’s going to be difficult having another person in the house a lot, but Jace is . . . he's just great and he helps me a lot with what I'm doing,” she said. “But I want to know this. Give me your honest opinion, Peter. What do you think of him?”

“He’s nice,” Peter lied, forcing a fake smile. “Seems like a pretty solid guy. I like him.” The fact that he even said that he liked Jace made him want to throw up, but of course he didn’t say anything like that around May. Jace had him under some sort of enchantment, because even if he wanted to say something, he just couldn’t.

_(“You don’t say a fucking word about this to anyone, especially May.”)_

May smiled at him. “That’s great, honey. I’m glad you like him.”

Peter gave her another fake smile. “I just . . . it’s hard to see you with someone.”

May’s face fell and Peter mentally kicked himself. “Oh.”

May seemed so happy since Jace had entered their lives. She was smiling more and enthusiasm was a good look on her.

 _Why_ couldn’t he be happy for her?

As frightening and as much as an ass that guy was, shouldn’t he be happy if she was happy? He felt Jace’s rough skin on his hand rubbing up against his on his face and shuddered.

Jace came over every second day and slept over a few of them. He’d give Peter his menacing glare which was enough to make a shiver run down the teen’s spine and stay out of him and May’s way.

He found himself being chronically lonely. May wasn’t hanging out with him as much as she did since Jace was always occupying her attention, but Jace’s threat kept lingering in his mind and he kept his mouth shut.

Things went on like this for two weeks.

Until one day when Jace was over, May remembered that she needed to check up one her friend’s house. She’d mentioned this once, but Peter forgot about it.

 _No, please don’t leave me with him!_ Peter wanted to say, but just bit his lip.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” May promised, slipping out the door. “Be good, boys!”

“We will,” Jace said charmingly and waved goodbye.

The door slamming was the only sound made for a couple minutes. Peter sat cross legged on the couch, scrolling through Pinterest and looking at some ideas for when he’d get together with Tony the following day. He had a crappy iPhone 4, that was slow as hell and painful to watch as it loaded things up. However, May didn’t need another thing to worry about, and the phone could call and text fine.

“I told you to stay out of my way,” Jace snarled suddenly.

“Pardon?” Peter responded, as polite as he could possibly be. “Haven’t I?”

“You didn't _listen_ ,” he snapped. “I told you.”

“I’m aloud to be with my aunt, jeez,” Peter said with an eyeroll, and immediately regretted it. Jace glared at him with those piercing eyes that cut through his soul like daggers. He turned his head away.

“What did you just say?” Jace hissed.

“N-no, I-I’m sorry . . .” Peter stuttered, digging his fingernails into his palms. “Sorry.”

Jace stood up from the chair in the kitchen he was sitting in and stalked forwards. He was quickly standing mere inches away from Peter, who’s heart started to race. He almost thought he smelled the green apple soap again, but his dialed senses picked up men’s cologne. His instincts told him to run for the hills.

It was 6:00 in the evening and the sky was orange with the sunset, illuminating Jace’s form with warm light. He abruptly brought his hand out and a stinging pain shot through Peter’s cheek. Peter’s head snapped left in the impact. He stumbled backwards and brought his hand up to cup around his cheek when Jace locked his fingers around his wrist.

The mark that Peter was sure was there didn’t even sting that much, but what made tears spring into his eyes was the concept that Jace just hit him. Jace yanked his wrist forward and locked eye contact.

“Am I _scaring_ you, Peter?” he taunted. “Is that why you’re about to cry, like a fucking _baby?_ ”

“I’m- I’m sorry, sir,” Peter choked out as Jace’s grip tightened painfully. His cheek stung from the slap and his hands were trembling. The truth was, yes. Jace did scare him. Peter knew he could take him, but May kept entering his mind, along with her smiley faces and genuine laughs whenever Jace was around and how happy she was all the time.

“Well you better get used to being scared if you keep up this attitude,” Jace barked. “Now go to your room and think about it.” Upon releasing his wrist, Jace also shoved him backwards and he fell onto the couch. Peter looked up for a second and them dashed off to his room and locked the door.

He slumped against it, pressing his back into it, like he was worried Jace would break the door down and he wouldn’t if Peter stood there like that. He eventually slid down and sat against it. His legs bent upwards, not quite touching his chest. Peter pressed his hands over his face and silently cried until he heard the door open and Jace’s voice greeting May.

He sniffled and wiped away his tears and listened to their small conversation.

“Where’s Peter?”

“He’s just in his room. Said he had homework.”

“Did you two get along?”

“Yeah. We talked a little bit about his schooling.”

“That’s wonderful. What do you want for dinner?”

“Do you have pasta?”

Peter wanted to cry again by how much Jace was lying. He wanted to burst in there and tell May that he threatened Peter and hit him but didn’t.

-

“Hey, man, you okay?” Ned asked during lunch the day after Jace hit Peter.

_(“You don’t say a fucking word about this to anyone.”)_

“Yeah, it’s just May has a boyfriend.”

“Oh shit,” Ned said. “How is he?”

“He’s fine,” Peter lied. “It’s just, his presence makes me think of Ben.” This was true. He did often think of Ben when he saw May with Jace and how happy she was, like she was when Ben was around. But Peter didn’t mention that his presence also makes him sick to his stomach and he’s always extremely worried that Jace was going to hurt him again.

“That must be tough,” Ned sympathized, clapping his hand on Peter’s shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting, but all Peter felt was Jace’s hand on his shoulder and then his other hand clasping over his mouth again, whispering threats into his ear. He grunted softly against his hand helplessly. Peter flinched back and fell off the picnic table. He was on the floor of the kitchen, pulling himself towards the fridge. Peter curled himself into a shaking ball and used his hands to protect his head.

“Peter?” Ned’s voice said, but it sounded like it was coming from land and Peter was underwater. “Peter!” he repeated, louder.

“Say something, dude!” He didn’t sound like he was underwater anymore and Ned was trying to pry Peter’s hands away from his head. “Peter, what’s going on?”

The panic attack slowly subsided.

Peter succumbed to the tugging and Ned pulled him to his feet. “You okay?” Ned asked gently.

“Y-yeah . . .” Peter said. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine,” Ned countered. “What’s up?”

“I’m fine, Ned,” Peter insisted, sitting back at the picnic table and forced his hand over to his sandwich. “I’m okay.”

Ned looked like he wanted to protest, but bit his lip and sat back down.

-

One night when May went to get milk and Jace was staying over, Peter’s door creaked open in an eerie way and then flung open. A shadow cast over his room and Jace stormed in, grabbing Peter’s hair and yanking him out of the bed. He yelped in pain and Jace’s face was inches away from his.

“You tell May that you don’t like having me around?” he sneered, tightening his grip on Peter’s hair.

“N-no! Nothing- nothing like that!” Peter said, yelping again when his hair was pulled and his head with it.

“Bullshit!” Jace shouted. “She told me that it was hard for you seeing me with her because of your fucking uncle!”

With a jerk of Jace’s arm, Peter was sent tumbling to the floor and a foot was driven into his ribs. He winced in pain and curled himself into a ball, shielding his face with his hands and another kick impacted his side.

His heel cracked down on the exposed skin on Peter’s side and he yelped again.

“I’m sorry!” Peter cried, and tears welled up in his eyes as Jace kicked him again.

“You don’t like this, huh?” Jace taunted, crouching next to Peter’s shaking body. “Then don’t say anything like that to May again! Do you fucking understand?”

"Y-yes, I'm sorry," Peter whimpered.

"Also, I'm not too fond with this Tony Stark character," Jace said. "I don't ever want to hear anything about him. Do you understand?" 

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, as much as he was itching to know why Jace didn't like Tony.

Peter wasn’t sure if it was footsteps that left his room or if it was just the pounding of his heart. He opened his eyes and saw that the door to his room was closed, so Jace had definitely left. Peter pulled himself into a sitting position and leaned against the bedframe, his body throbbing. Tears leaked from his eyes, not because of the pain, as much of it as there was. He was caught in a never-ending whirlpool. If he said anything at all to May, Jace would teach him a lesson by beating him. So, it was either saying something and getting a butt-load of pain, or not saying anything and minimizing the pain.

He cried himself to sleep that night, too.

-

The following day, he was invited to Tony’s to work on updates to his suit which he’d hardly touched since Jace entered his life a month ago. He’d normally be over the moon about it (like being _invited_ ahhh) but he was still aching from Jace kicking him the previous night.

But he didn’t want to disappoint Tony like he’d done so many times over, so he agreed, and Tony came to pick him up after school. He arrived in a shiny black Audi that some kids were pointing at. Peter heard something along the lines of _‘whoa check out that dude’s car!’_

A hammer pounding the insides of Peter’s chest took the place of his heart as he walked up towards the car. Tony had sunglasses on and a hood from his jacket, sort of disguising him. If you didn’t look closely, he just looked like a normal dad picking his kid up from school. He smiled at Peter and greeted him with his usual _‘Hey, kid.’_

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter returned with as much false happiness as he could manage.

Tony gestured to the passenger seat right before walking around the hood of the car and slipping into the driver’s side. Peter opened the passenger door and slid into his seat, but then a worried thought made his blood run cold.

_Jace doesn't like Tony. Is he going to hurt me about going to see him?_

Peter didn’t close the passenger door and just sat there for a second.

“Have you lost the muscle strength to close the door?” Tony joked. “Why didn’t you say?”

Panicked with his irrational worry, Peter started to climb out of the seat when Tony’s hand closed around his wrist. “Kid, where are you going?”

All of a sudden, Jace was the one who was grabbing him. He was going to pin him to the ground and tell him to stay the hell away from him and May or he’d beat him senseless.

“Let go of me, Jace!” Peter shrieked, yanking his wrist back.

“Whoa, buddy! It’s Tony,” Jace said in a soft voice.

“Tony . . .” Peter repeated and the Jace image melted away and was replaced with a concerned looking Tony Stark. An immediate wave of embarrassment washed over Peter and he slumped against the car seat.

Tony’s grip didn’t remove until Peter stopped struggling. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Peter lied, running his finger through his hair. “Sorry about- about that.”

Tony didn’t fire up the car’s ignition nor did he remove his gaze from the teenager. “Who’s Jace?” he asked.

 _Idiot, Peter, you’re such an idiot,_ Peter cursed himself. “He’s- he’s just my aunt’s boyfriend. Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

_Lies lies lies._

“Whoa, Aunt Hottie got a boyfriend did she?” Tony said and then chuckled at his own joke. The laughing expression was quickly replaced with a concerned one. “By the way you were yelling and trying to get away, I’d think that something _is_ wrong and you’re not telling me.”

“I’m fine,” Peter said, almost robotically. He’d bee saying that for both Ned and May for a month now and hiding his hatred for Jace kind of became a second nature. Hiding any bruises that were still there the next day became effortless. May was just so _happy_ and Peter didn’t want to take that away from her.

“Okay then,” Tony sighed and turn the car on.

“But could we call May and let her know that I’m coming with you?” Peter asked.

“Doesn’t she already know that?”

“Y-yeah, but I want to remind her.” _Lies. I want her to tell Jace._

Tony just shrugged and dialed her up on his Starkphone. Their conversation was short and light and then he hung up. “She knows, kid.”

“Thanks,” Peter said, the tension releasing in his chest.

They drove in pretty much silence until they were in the lab. Peter shared some of his ideas with Tony who took note of them and they discussed Karen’s AI.

“What’s Instant-Kill for?” Peter asked curiously, since he was so confused as to why Tony would put that in there.

Tony chuckled a little. “I'm pretty sure I was drunk when I installed that.”

-

The next month was filled with lying to everyone. Chronic lying and taking several hits from Jace if he ever talked back or got in his way. Tony continuously raised his eyebrows skeptically whenever Peter responded to his questions about his well-being with _‘I’m fine.’_ May was still just as happy as she was before.

Peter wasn’t sure what set Jace off that night.

That night when May went with one of her friends to see a late-night movie.

That night when she left Peter alone with Jace.

All Peter was doing was walking past him to get to his room.

Jace suddenly leapt off the stool in the kitchen and grabbed the front of Peter’s shirt, slamming him into the wall. Peter yelped at the impact only to get smacked across the side of his head by Jace’s palm. One of the man’s hands released his shirt, pressed against his forehead and smashed the back of his head against the wall.

Peter cried out in pain and tried to pry Jace’s hands off him.

“You went to see Stark!” Jace shouted, slamming his head into the wall again. "How fucking dare you?!"

“I’m sorry!” Peter cried, and tears sprung into his eyes.

Then Jace’s hand locked around a poker that you’d use to move logs in a fireplace.

His electric-blue eyes were blinded by his fury and he raised the poker behind his head.

Peter's spider-sense blared like crazy. He didn’t even have control over his body when Jace brought the poker down towards his face and he dodged. _Fuck, I moved too fast I moved too fast I moved too fast._ Jace did look at him with surprise for half a second before bringing the poker down again, which Peter didn’t dodge and it cracked against the side of his ribcage and he cried out, and then again in the same spot.

Then Jace tossed the poker aside and closed his hand around Peter's throat. The teenager gasped for air and clawed at Jace's hand. 

_Oh my god he’s trying to kill me,_

His full instincts killed in and he shoved the bottom of his foot into Jace’s stomach and sent him flying across the living room. _Super strength._ Peter shot off to his room and locked the door behind him. He backed up against his bedframe when he heard Jace pounding on the door. Peter glanced at himself in the mirror. Finger and hand prints were imprinted on his neck and Peter just about sobbed at the sight.

“Open up!” Jace shouted.

Bang.

“I said, **open the fuck up! Or I swear you'll regret it!”** he bellowed, kicking at the door.

 _I have to get out of here,_ Peter panicked and look at the window, tears burning his eyes. Within two seconds, his web-shooters were around his wrists and he was out the window, twenty feet in the air. He didn’t have his mask, so he couldn’t exactly go swinging around. The web plastered itself the apartment wall and Peter swung down effortlessly.

Peter sprinted down the street. _Jace tried to kill me._ It was only now just hitting him, since the adrenaline in the apartment made it hard to think rationally. _Oh my God Jace tried to kill me._ He knew it at the time, but it didn’t sink in. It was now doing just that like a sponge. He wasn’t even sure of the direction he was going until he realized he was headed in the direction of the Compound.

_Tony._

He needed to get somewhere, so he pulled out his phone from his back pocket that surprisingly survived the smashes against the wall. Now that he thought about it, his head was throbbing painfully.

He didn’t think about calling Tony to let him know that he was coming, which probably would have been a good idea. Instead he swung through the darker parts of the streets to make sure no one saw him without his suit.

Peter bit his lip to keep the tears burning his eyes at bay and tried to calm his shaking hands with no success.

Upon arriving at the Compound, Peter blinked away the tears and walked up to the door.

“Hello, Mr. Parker,” FRIDAY greeted the second he walked up.

“Hey, FRIDAY. Is Mr. Stark there?” he asked hopefully. He felt Jace’s hands pinning him to the wall and closing around his neck and shuddered. It was dark out by then. The moon peeked out over the dark clouds and stars glistened like diamonds in the sky.

“Yes, Peter. Would you like me to alert him that you’re here?” the AI said in its feminine voice.

“Yes please.”

Peter waited outside for a minute until FRIDAY let him in. He walked through the huge, imposing building. As many times as he’d been in it, it never ceased to amaze him.

He caught his reflection in one of the long mirrors on the wall. The marks on his neck had thankfully already faded.

Then, there was Tony, looking concerned as ever.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining, but is there a reason you’re here so late?”

“I was hoping maybe I could stay the night?” Peter asked in a croaky whisper.

Tony blinked at him. “Uh, sure. If your aunt’s okay with it.”

“She is,” Peter lied. He’d been lying to Tony for months. He couldn’t bring himself to just let it out. Jace’s threat still stuck to him with superglue. Peter felt Jace's hand around his throat, just about collapsing his trachea, and shuddered violently.

“Okay.”

Awkward silence filled the room.

“Uh, why do you need to stay here?” Tony asked, clapping his hand on the side of Peter’s shoulder. He guided Peter gently towards the fluffy white couches and they both sat down. The couch cushions felt like they wanted to swallow Peter because of how soft they were. He even felt himself exhaling the breath that was starting to hurt his chest.

“I- I just need to stay out of the house for a while,” Peter choked out and blinked away any tears that threatened to pool in his eyes. No way was he going to cry now.

“Why?” Tony pushed, his hand remained on Peter’s shoulder.

“It’s just- it’s just Jace . . .” Peter trailed off.

_(“You don’t say a fucking word about this to anyone.”)_

“I think him and May should have alone time.”

Goddammit that was a stupid excuse. So fucking dumb. Tony would never buy it.

He didn’t. “That’s a lie, Peter.”

 _I know, I’m sorry,_ Peter wheedled. _But I can’t tell you._

“I know you’ve been lying to me,” Tony continued in a soft tone. “Ever since you told me about that guy, you’ve been lying to me. You keep saying you’re fine when you’re not. Believe me when I say I know what that feels like because I do it a lot myself. But you’re a **terrible** liar, Peter.”

“I-I know,” Peter whispered.

“Please, please tell me what’s going on.” Tony’s hand transferred to the far side of Peter’s ribcage to pull him in closer, but a burst of pain spread through his skin and Peter yelped. He scrambled away and hovered his hand over the pain.

 _When Jace hit me with the poker_. He winced and then tried to put on a straight face. The wound throbbed angrily. Tony was eyeing the spot with worry.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a whisper.

“I . . . I just . . . fell,” Peter lied. “At school.”

“Your healing should have taken care of it by now,” Tony said.

"It's- it's smaller than it was before," Peter said softly. 

Tony sighed. "Peter, why are you really here?" 

“It's just . . . Jace just gets mad a lot,” Peter choked out. It was true. He did. “Over the stupidest things.” He squeezed his eyes shut. _You can’t say anything,_ he reminded himself. _Keep the walls up, Peter. You can do this._

“Is that it?” Tony asked. His tone inferred that he wanted that to be it.

But it wasn’t.

Peter shook his head with tears in his eyes. “No.”

“What else?”

_(“You don’t say a fucking word about this to anyone.”)_

_His rough hand with the scent of green apple soap clasped over Peter’s mouth and his threat whispered into Peter’s ear._

_Him hitting him in the living room._

_Kicking him on the floor._

_Trying to . . . **kill** him._

He didn’t mean to say it. It honestly just came out. “He hurts me.” A couple of tears went down his face which he desperately swiped at. Once it came out, so did everything else. “Hits- hits me if I talk . . . talk back. Kicked me a lot when- when we were alone. Threatened . . . me. “And- and just tonight . . . I think he- he tried to k-kill me b-by choking me.”

Embarrassment came over him and he stood up and walked towards the huge bay window. He pressed his forehead against it and forced his tears to stop.

“Peter,” came a voice from behind. When Peter turned his head, he was pulled in for a warm, tight hug from Tony. This was their first real hug. Tony’s arm wrapped around Peter’s back and shoulders, carefully avoided his ribs, and his other hand pressed up against the back of Peter’s head. “Oh my God. He tried to _choke_ you?”

Peter nodded. “I know I should have done something t-to stop everything from happening. B-but May was so happy and- and I didn’t . . . want to take- take it away . . . from her.”

“So you let yourself be hurt?” Tony inquired.

 _He’s mad at me,_ Peter thought. _For being such a weakling._

He started to pull away, thinking that Tony was mad, but Tony tightened his grip. “Hey,” he said gently. Peter swallowed back another wave of tears. The silent ones had stopped some time ago, but he wanted to cry again. Tony must have felt his throat clench or something because he held Peter’s shoulders at arm’s length and examined his face. “Oh, Peter.” Peter turned his head, ashamed. Ashamed that he went to Iron Man for help for something that he could have taken care of on his own. Ashamed that he broke down in front of Iron Man. Ashamed that . . .

“Peter,” Tony said, more firmly, touching the bottom of Peter’s chin and turned it so they could make eye contact. “Buddy, I know you’ve been keeping everything inside you for months.” Peter wanted to look away again but didn’t and remained having eye contact with Tony. “But now you can let it out, okay?”

Tears brimmed in Peter’s eyes, just waiting to spill, but even though what Tony said made sense, he couldn’t bring himself to cry under the gaze of the billionaire. This was odd. Tony never once consoled him. To be fair, he always acted his most cheery self around him. He never thought they bonded this much over the past few months to come to this.

“So, Peter,” Tony continued, his voice softer than ever. “It’s okay.”

“N-no it’s not . . .” Peter started to say, shaking his head and he tried to walk away, but Tony placed his hand against Peter’s arm ever so gently and it somehow made Peter stop.

“No, seriously, it’s okay.”

“I shouldn’t . . .”

“Peter!” Tony almost snapped and it made Peter flinch. His tone brought back the softness when he said, “I mean it. It’s okay to cry.”

Finally, the dam broke.

Peter started sobbing and huge tears spilled over his eyelids.

Tony pulled him in for a hug again. The side of Peter’s head rested on Tony’s shoulder and he gripped the back of Tony’s shirt like a child with their parent. But Tony wasn’t his parent. He didn’t care. He didn’t even care when he started to soak the shoulder of Tony’s shirt. He _needed_ this. He needed the affectionate comfort from someone he trusted. He needed a hug and he needed to cry.

Once he started crying, he didn't stop and just let everything out. Tony stroked Peter's hair and slowly rocked back and forth.

"It's okay," Tony soothed. "It's okay."

When the waterworks finally calmed down, after a while embarrassingly, Peter was tired and his eyelids felt heavy.

“Alright, buddy, now we talk about this,” Tony said suddenly, holding Peter at arms length again. His eyes stung from all the crying. Tony’s expression softened when he saw how red his eyes were and how tear-stained his face was. “Awe, Peter.” He raised his hand and gently brushed away the access water. “But seriously. We have to talk about it.”

“C-can’t . . .” Peter whimpered. “He . . . he said I couldn’t.”

“What? When?”

“The- the first day I met him,” Peter sniveled. “He came up to me at night and threatened me, then told me I couldn’t tell anyone anything.”

“He just . . . came up to you and said this?” Tony asked, concern rising in his voice like a sunrise.

“No . . .” Peter stopped for a sniveled and rubbed his eyes. “I-I was just- just making cereal at night and he just came- came up behind me and . . . and just- just grabbed me.” He felt too ashamed to continue and looked down.

“Grabbed you,” Tony repeated.

“Covered my mouth so I couldn’t talk . . . and- and then just threatened me. He told me not to tell anyone especially May or else I'd regret it,” Peter whispered. His face was hot from embarrassment. How could he let it get this far? "I didn't want to think about what he might do, so I listened."

“Oh, Peter,” Tony muttered. “God, I’m so sorry. And you said he hurt you a lot, right?”

Peter nodded shamefully.

"Besides tonight, when was the last time?" 

Peter swiped at his eyes. "I-I dunno, m-maybe a week ago?"

“Fucking fuck,” Tony swore and pulled out his phone.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“I’m calling your aunt,” he answered.

“No!” Peter exclaimed, grabbing Tony’s arm. “He’s there. You can’t . . . I’m afraid he’ll do something to her.”

That was his worst fear. That Jace would stop hurting Peter and move to May instead. He could take all his abuse. He could. He would heal up the next day with his insane healing capabilities. But he could not take it if it were May.

Tony looked at Peter understandingly. “Alright, but I’m going to take you back to your apartment and we’re going to confront this asshole together, okay? Great idea, Tony. Let’s go.”

Soon, Peter was sitting in the passenger seat of Tony’s epic car. It reminded him with a pang of guilt of that time he freaked out when he thought Tony was Jace. It just showed how much he needed this.

Arriving at the apartment door was probably the most terrifying things of Peter’s life.

“Hey,” Tony said gently, hugging Peter to his side like he did on the couch, avoiding his ribs. “I’m here.”

Peter nodded just as the apartment door opened. Thank God it was just May.

“Oh, hi, Peter. How come you came home from Ned’s house?” she asked.

 _That’s what Jace told her,_ Peter thought, digging his fingernails into his palms. _That was his explanation of where the hell I was for the last couple of hours._  
  
“He wasn’t at Ned’s house,” Tony said firmly. “He was with me. Can I come in?”

“Yes, of course,” May said, stepping aside.

Peter’s stomach flipped over when he saw Jace sitting on the couch in the living room. He flashed Tony one of his fake, charming smiles that made Peter want to throw up. Tony’s hold did not once leave Peter, which he was immensely grateful for.

“So, what’s going on, Mr. Stark?” May asked, sitting on the arm of the couch.

“Peter and I have something we need to tell you,” Tony said bluntly. He was not fooling around.

“Okay,” May said nervously. She glanced at Jace. “Do you need to be alone with me?”

“No, he can stay,” Tony said, gritting his teeth. “This is actually about him and he needs to hear it.” Tony’s grip tightened around Peter, who felt himself leaning into the touch. Tony’s fierce glare drifted to Jace, who stared at him with his bright, piercing blue eyes.

May looked just as confused. “What’s going on?”

“It’s okay, Pete,” Tony whispered. “You can do it.”

Peter felt his eyes burning and the hammer replace his heart once more. “May . . . Jace tried . . .” he took in a huge, wavering breath. “Jace tried to kill me today.”

May’s expression hardened and she spun around to look at Jace. She stood up and said, _“What?”_ just as just shouted, "Now hold on a second!"

“He tried to kill me,” Peter repeated, his confidence suddenly appearing out of nowhere. All those times that fear kept his mouth shut were forgotten. “He tried to choke me.”

May whirled around. “Is this true?” she asked Jace.

“Of course not!” the man denied, standing up. “Come on, May. Do you really think I would do that?”

“That’s not all you’ve done,” Peter snapped. “You fucking threatened me the day you walked into my life! You hit me countless times and I kept it in for May, to keep her happy!”

"All this time I trusted you and let you come into our lives when you've been abusing Peter!" May yelled.

"I have not been abusing Peter!" Jace shot back. "This weak little shit? Are you _kidding_ me?" 

May glared at Jace with such hatred in fury boiling in her eyes that Peter genuinely thought she might blow something up by just looking at it. “Get. Out.”

“You can’t seriously _believe_ him!” Jace shouted and Peter wanted to punch his lights out. “You can’t fucking think I’d do that!”

“I can if the most important person in my life says it,” May exclaimed. “And I have noticed a change in him since you came in, but I ignored it because I was happy with you. But now I know. I know that you’ve been hurting my nephew and threatening him so he wouldn’t tell me and that you’ve been lying to me since I laid eyes on you!”

“It’s not true!” Jace exclaimed, still trying.

“Yes, it is!” Peter shouted. “And I have a goddamn bruise on my ribs to prove it!”

 **“Get. Out.** Get out, get out, or I swear to God I’ll kill you,” May said. Her tone was quiet, but so much anger and fury was laced into it that it was more terrifying that it was quiet.

Jace threw up his hands in frustration and stormed out the apartment door.

May sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands.

“May,” Peter choked out, breaking away from Tony’s hold and kneeling next to her. She was crying, and Peter felt a lump form in his throat. “May, it’s okay.”

“No it’s not!” she cried. “How could I let this happen?”

“You didn’t know,” Peter tried, holding his hands with hers. “I . . . I get him lose it on me because . . .” He forced back tears. “Because the last thing I wanted was him to turn on you.” May looked up and met his eyes. “B-because I can heal fast, like the next day I’d be fine, but you can’t do that. I was scared. I’m sorry, May.”

She was already hugging him. “Oh, honey. You should have told me.”

“You were so happy,” Peter choked. “I didn’t want you to lose that.”

May’s body shook while she silently cried. She didn’t say anything more until Tony finally spoke up.

“I’ll let the police know and we’ll get this bastard behind bars,” he said.

May stood up and without hesitation hugged Tony. He looked surprise by the action, but it quickly faded and he lightly hugged her back.

“Thank you for being there for him when I couldn’t,” she murmured.

Tony smiled. “Of course. Any time.”

Peter walked Tony back down to his car about thirty minutes later.

"Hey, Peter? I'll take care of that asshole, okay?" Tony assured.

"I know you will," Peter said with a smile.

Right before Tony opened his car door, Peter's instincts took over and he wrapped his mentor in a hug. Tony reciprocated almost instantly. Peter had never shared a real hug with Tony before this day, and now he just had about three.

He also liked Tony's hugs, which was a bonus.

"Thank you," Peter whispered. "For everything."

"That is not a problem," Tony said, rubbing up and down Peter's back. "I'll do anything to keep you safe."

A tear of joy seared down Peter's cheek before he could stop it, and when the hug ended, Tony gently flicked it away.

"Um, I just wanted to say this before I implode," Peter started, willing back any more tears that wanted to escape. "I- I don't think I would've been able to get through this without your help. And you know you mean a lot to me. So just, thanks, I guess. Thanks for making some of the worst days of my life bearable." A little tear did end up slipping from his eye.

Tony flicked that tear away and hugged Peter again. "God Pete, you're gonna make me cry."

"I've never seen you cry," Peter mused.

"And you won't," Tony said firmly. "The great Tony Stark doesn't cry in front of people."

Peter released from the hug and flashed Tony a big smile before allowing his mentor to hop into his car, and drive off.

Some of the most horrible weeks of Peter's life incorporated their way into the year, but Peter could deal with it.

He always did.

And with the protection of Tony Stark?

He was going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> M'kay, that's that. I was debating whether or not to make it into chapters, but I just decided to go for a one-chapter, long ass story.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :D
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated. <3


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